Improvement



P. BALL. A lVaIve-Mntiuns -for Gates and Hydrants.` IN0. 144,048.l Patehted Oct. 28,1873.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rEnvEEAs BALL, oE WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN VALVE-MOTIONSFOR GATES AND H'VDRA'N-TS Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 144.048, dated October28, 1873-; application-filed v October 9, 1873.

To all whomtmay concern:

Be it known that I, PHINEHAs BALL, of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain Improvements in Valve-Movements for Gates and Hydrants, of which the following is a specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a side elevation of a hydrant having my improved mode of constructing and operating the valve applied thereto, the side of the case being removed to illustrate the working parts. Fig. 2 represents' a front elevation of the same with the valve-seat removed; and Fig. 3, a rear view of the same, the Lipper portion of the hydrant being broken off.

My improvement relates to a new and improved mode of constructing the `operative mechanism of a valve, whether sin gle or double faced; and it consists in attaching, by means of a pivot-joint, the valve or valves, when properly arranged for operation, to the outer ends of a pair of toggle or knuckle jointed levers, which, through the action of a pair of nuts and a riglit-and-left-hand-threaded screwrod, on which they are mounted, are made toV approach or recede from each other, and by that means impart to the valve aymotion toward and from its seat, thereby opening and closing the throat of the pipe to which the valve is connected, according to the direction it is caused to move. rlhis mode of opening and closing the valve possesses peculiar advantages over most others, as it gives to the valve, when fully open and about to be closed, a comparatively fast motion at first, when but little back strain can be imparted to theV service-pipes,1 and a correspondingly slow motion as it nears its seat to entirely cut off the flow of the iiuid, when the back or reactionary strain has full force, thereby obviating a most serious difficulty, and thatwithout lessening the actionof the screw-rod on the nuts in the least-a practical point, the importance of which `can scarcely be overestimated.

To enable others skilled in the art to make,

, construct, and use my improvement, l will now proceed to describe its plied to a rire-hydrant.

The hydrant A proper is represented as being made in four parts, B, G, D, and E, al-

parts in detail, as apvthough not necessarily so. The upper'part,`

B, is provided with the usual bosses and-openings'for the attachment of hose-couplings or Water-cocks. In its upper end is secured the stufngbox a, through which the outerl end of the actuating screw-rodl F passes. As the lower end of this rod, when a valve with a single face is used, has an oscillatingmovement imparted to it by the levers G G, a compensating device is attached to it, which consists of a simple washer, b, mounted on the rod F underneath the packing-box and packing, and on which the latter rests, whereby a corresponding lateral movement is permitted to the washer without impairing in any degree the efficiency of the packing. The part C. is secured to the part B byvmeans of a male screw1 taking into a vfemale screw cut in the; lower end of part B, and by being thus made in two parts facilitates the putting'togetherof the upper or packing end of the hydrant. The lower end of C swells rout so as to form the one-half of the casing of the working-partsof the valve, and may be made of any suitable form and of any required size or capacity. On its lowerend it is provided with a flange, e, by means of which it is secured, by screwbolts and nuts or by simple'screws, to the lower Y part D 'of the casing, the latter being provided with a corresponding flange, d, for that purpose. The casing U D, thus put together, is entirely closed at one end and open at theother; and is provided at this end with an outer flange, e, by means of which it is connected, through a corresponding flange, f, to the fourth piece E, and which piece more particularlyforms the valve-seat and the coupling that connects-the hydrant with the service-pipe.

A hydrant constructed as described forms a suitable casing for the application of my improved mode of operating the valve; but it may, if desired, be made of any other suitable shape and construction.

The parts which operate the valve H` mayf now be brieiiy described, as follows: A rightandleft-l1and-threaded screw, work through nuts lq-and g." To the one end of each of these nuts is pivoted an arm or le-V ver, G, 'and to the other end of each another lever or arm, G. The outer end of each of the pair of levers G is connected by the same pivotal pin to the center ofthe piece which forms the valveH, for'which purpose suitable F, is made toprovision is made on the inner side o f the valve, in the shape of lugs h, or other suitable device, for the support ofthe pivotal pin. In

the same manner the outer end of each of the pair of levers G' is connected by the same pivot to lugs m, formed on the shell of the hydrant or valve case, and at a point directly opposite to the point at4 the center of the valve to which the levers Gr are connected. Each pair of armsthat is to say, G and Gr, and G and Gare made of the same length from pivot to pivot, as are the two nuts from pivot to pivot. By being so made, and the rightand-left-hand screws having the same pitch but in reverse directions, the valve is moved back and forth, according to the direction in whichxthe screwvF is turned, in a right line. This is effected by the action of the screw on the nuts g g, which, when forced apart, draws the valve away from its seat, and thereby opens connection between the service-pipe and the hydrant, and, when drawn together by reversing the direction ofthe screw, forces it directly into its seat, thereby closing the connection.v On the periphery of the valve, next the flanges o d of the casing, are formed two guides, t' t', one on each side, which move in guideways-c, cut or otherwise formed in the casing, or in one or other, or both, of the inner edges of the flanges c d, the sides of the casing being flattened for this purpose. These guides serve, in conjunction with the motion of the levers, to cause the valve to travel steadily back and forth in a line with its center or that of its seat. By attaching the one end of each of the levers G to the shell of the hydrant, it will be apparent that, as the nuts are forced apart, the end of the screw F on which the nuts g and g are mounted must be drawn toward that side of the shell, and when drawn together. forced apart again. This motion requires at the opposite -end of the screw F a compensating device when it passes through the stuffing-box, and which is 4vprovided for, as before described, by the use of a movable washer, las arranged below the packing. This motion, however, would be unnecessary, andneed not be provided for, were both pairs of levers to carry or operate a valve, as in such case that end of the screw on which the nuts work, if desired, might with advantageV v be mounted 1n a stationary bearing, as in neither case does it have endwise-that is to say, an up-and-do wn-motion; it having lateral motion only when used to operate a single valve-face.

In making the valve I use the ordinary leather or metal faced, and conical or bevel seat, valve, and which, through the great power I can command to operate it by this combination of the screw with the lever, I can always close with ease against any pressure of the passing iiuid, whether water or steam, which would probably be brought to operate against it. This mode of construction not only sinipliiies the working parts of the valve, but pe culiarly adapts it to the requirements of a good hydrant, as they are more under the control of the operator when endeavoring to shut it against heavy pressure, and can be lifted from itslseat with the same facility as it is forced into it. This is of very great importance in case a slight frost has caused the valve barely to adhere to its seat, in which event the great power of the screw and levers, aided by the pressure of the water, at once operates the valve. Moreover, by this mode of operating the valves, they, on being opened, are made to `move very slowly on the start,`but with a regularly increasing motion as they are carried farther from their seat, and vice versa when shutting-that is to say, fast at first, and slower and slower toward the end, until iirmly pressed against their seat. This is a point'of great practical importance, as before stated, as it allows the duid to be let on and shut oif under the most favorable conditions to the pipes on which they are used, when conveying the iiuid under a heavy head or pressure, such as in hydrant-pipes, &c. As applied to hydrants,the screw F becomes, as it were, a simple valve-rod, on the outer end of which a wrench or hey can .be applied to operate it, and the upper endof the casing A, from its seat to the end that projects above the ground, an open channel or water-way, so constructed that hose or water-cocks, or both, may be attached to it in any of the modes now in common use.

In order to prevent the great power of the screw as applied between the nuts g and g from destroying the mechanism of the valves. by being drawn asunder too far, I place a check-nut, l, on the screw above the upper nut at the proper point to limit the travel of the same. This point, of course, is so arranged as to allow the valve to be drawn sufficiently far back from its seat to give full and free access to the water from the servicepipe to the upper or discharge end of the hydrant.

Such a valve and mechanism to operate it, it will be obvious, can be applied to a great variety of purposes here unnecessary to be enumerated.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The method, substantially as described, of operating a valvethat is to say, by means g of a right-andleft-hand screw, and one or two pairs of arms or levers, G, or G and Gr', and nuts g g', for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of a valve, F, and its actuating mechanism with the valve-seat, in such manner that the-movementof the former from or toward the latter shall be atl right angles to the face of the latter, and with a regularly increasing and decreasing velocity during said .move1nents, for the purposes described.

PHINEHAS BALL. Witnesses:

'EL H. Srnnivs,

J. P. WALL. 

